Sukhbir Badal attacker Narain Singh Chaura gets bail

A court here on Tuesday granted bail to Narain Singh Chaura, a Khalistani sympathiser who had allegedly tried to assassinate former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal. Chaura (70) has been told to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh.

He is likely be released from the Ropal Central jail tomorrow after the family furnishes the bail bond in the local court, said his son Baljinder Singh Bajwa.

The incident had taken place on December 4 when Badal was undergoing a religious punishment as a sewadar at the entrance of the Golden Temple.

The Akal Takht — the highest temporal seat for the Sikhs — had held Badal and several Akali leader guilty for “mistakes” committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) during its decade-long rule from 2007-17 over issues concerning the community.

Chaura’s counsel Jaspal Singh Manjhpur confirmed the development, saying the police had opposed the bail on the ground that 28 cases had been registered against him in the past. The accused’s counsel argued that Chaura had already been acquitted in those cases.